The Color of Crimson
by Astral Ascension
Summary: When Link gets captured by Ghirahim, how long can the boy stand the demon lord's relentless interrogations before reaching his breaking point?
1. Mistake

__**A/N: **Hey everyone! I wrote this up a LONG time ago, like when I had just finished Skyward Sword, but I never really typed it up...BUT HERE IT IS! This is definitely rated "M" because of the blood and language...I don't think that I'm old enough to write this... ._. OH WELL! I hope you guys enjoy! R&R please! ^-^

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Legend of Zelda.

**Warning: **There is going to be A LOT of blood and violence, so if that's just not your thing, then don't read this.

_It would be so easy…so easy to just give up…so easy to just let go of the title "hero"…but I can't…I have a friend to save…but what's the point in trying…if the consequences just result in more pain and torture? Giving up…that sounds nice…no more torment…no more interrogation…no more torture…no more pain…no more defiance…no more consequences…no more burdens…no more nothing. I'm sorry, Zelda I really am, but some promises…some promises just can't be kept…_

"Master, I advise that you just stay at home; you're not fully healed, and I don't know what could possibly be lurking out in Lanyru," Fi informed Link as the boy stumbled out of his bed.

"No, Fi. I'm fine now. Thanks for your concern though," the blonde replied. In a previous journey in Eldin, the young boy had tripped when an unstable rock gave way, resulting in a 10 foot fall injuring the boy's ankle. The past week, Link had been recuperating, but there was no more time to spare; Zelda was waiting after all. The teen limped out of his room and hopped down the stairs.

"You seem troubled, Master Link. Is something wrong?" the monotone voice questioned.

"It's nothing. I'm just annoyed by the fact that I had to stay inside for a whole week because of a damn rock breaking," Link sighed, staggering outside and onto a diving platform.

"Master, I would still say that you need to stay home. You don't know what could happen, and you really could get yourself in a situation worse than now if you venture out with that injured limb,"

"Thanks for your concern, Fi, but I doubt that this will take more than a few hours. Really. I'll be fine, I promise," The teen chuckled as he dove off of the platform and whistled, calling the crimson loftwing that belonged to him. The bird soared through the air and allowed its owner to ride it. There was no more conversation between the two as the blond fell through the yellow ray of light.

"Agh…" Link groaned and patted off residue from the harsh landing. Covering his eyes from the blinding light, the boy set out. "Where to go?..." he muttered, looking around.

After a while of roaming, the Skyloftian was starting to become fatigued. Link roamed around some more before coming across a large patch of quicksand. He backed up a few paces, and then started to sprint across. Exhaustion was getting to him much quicker than the teen would have expected. Fortunately, the boy spotted a small area of land nearby to catch his breath. He was nearly there, his hand reaching out for the ground, but as soon as his hand made contact with the earth, a pain shot through his left shoulder.

Link screamed out, vision blurring immediately. He fell to the side, quicksand consuming him rapidly, and out of the corner of his eye, the hero could see a bokoblin arher on a raised platform. "What the hell? There was no timeshift stone around here. How could a bokoblin be here-" Link stopped his train of thought when he found his answer; a figure was seen next to the bokoblin. Although it wasn't clear, the boy could guess who it was, and the answer sent fear throughout the blonde's body.

Link couldn't see anything; everything was shrouded in darkness. "What happened?" Everything seemed like a blur to the half conscious boy. He tried moving his body, but it seemed that everything except his head was restrained with what felt like some sort of chain. The blonde also tried to look around for anything, but he was met with the same obscurity of light at every angle. He also noticed a pain in his shoulder. It was just a dull ache now, though.

Pondering on what had happened prior to his, Link came up with his answer.

Analyzing the situation, the boy came out with an answer that he hoped wasn't true: He had been captured by that bastard of a demon, and was going to be interrogated on the whereabouts of Zelda. The odds of it being true, though, were quite high. And unfortunately, Fi would most likely agree with his analysis.

With a determination to get out of the bonds, the boy started to struggle, but it was a futile effort; the chains didn't budge. He noticed that there were sharp edges to the chains, something that was a bit odd, but after thinking about it, Link guessed that they were shaped like diamonds. It was just like Ghirahim to do that, after all.

Eventually, there were footsteps. That made Link's heart skip a beat. He was almost positive that the footsteps belonged to _him_, and if anything, _he _wasn't coming just to say "hi".

A door opened, blinding, white light pouring into the dark room. The hero shrouded his eyes away from the blazing light, not used to it. Before doing that, though, he saw that the way that Ghirahim was entering the room with the bright backlight made it look like he was an angel. The teen chuckled bitterly at the irony of the statement.

Almost as quickly as the brightness came, it vanished, leaving Link back in the darkness. This time, though, he wasn't alone.

A snap came from about 5 feet in front of the teen followed by dim torch lights appearing on the walls, and a horribly familiar voice being spoken, "Hello, Skychild. I'm going to skip the introductions because I assume that you know what I'm here for. Am I correct?"

"And I'm going to assume that you know that I'm not going to tell you. Am I correct?" Link muttered, glaring the demon.

The demon lord chuckled, "Hm. You say that now, but can you keep to that statement?"

"I'm not telling you _anything_, so forget about it."

"Funny thing is that I kind of hoped that you'd say that. I mean think about it; where's the fun in breaking you down if you submit immediately?" With those words, the white haired assailant snapped, a rapier flashing into existence. He lunged forward at the hero's ribcage, piercing through the boy's layers of clothes, and then through the skin. That received a suppressed grunt from Link. Not satisfying to the demon lord, he twisted the blade, getting a poorly concealed scream this time.

Smirking, Ghirahim ripped the blade out, droplets of blood along with it. Link was panting, not used to experiencing pain like this. Sure he had had cuts and injuries before, but never had he been stabbed, and even if there was some kind of pain even close to this, the blonde would just drink a red potion, and the pain would go away. Looking up, the boy saw his white haired assailant, running his tongue up the rapier, savoring the taste of his victim's blood. Seeing that sight almost made Link gag; someone was _enjoying_ the taste of his _blood_. He closed his eyes, trying to keep his composure. While having his eyes closed, though, the boy noticed that damned presence getting closer until it was literally suspended right over the hero.

A sinister voice whispered in Link's ear, "Now, Skychild, I'm sure that you don't want any more pain, right? Because I'll assure you now that this isn't my worst. So why don't you tell me where the Spirit Maiden is?"

"Not a single chance, you bastard," defiance was obvious in the boy's tone.

"Now now, there's no need to use such vulgar words. It really hurts my feelings. So how about you show some manners to your elders and answer me with respect?" the demon lord placed his thumb on the boy's chin and forefinger underneath it, lifting Link's head up, forcing the Skyloftian to look at Ghirahim.

Link spoke again, not changing his tone of voice, "I already said it once: Not a damn chance."

"You know, Skychild, that really isn't the best approach if you want to stay on my good side. And I'm sure that you do, considering that you have personal experience with my bad side," Ghirahim's tone was getting calmer, but it wasn't a peaceful calm; it was more of a deadly one.

"Yeah, I do. Instead of sorting it out like an adult, you take it out on other people, namely me, like a child!" The hero spat, his tone imprudent.

Out of rage, Ghirahim slapped the powerless child with such force, it nearly gave Link whiplash.

"Link, I'm done playing games with you-" the demon lord was interrupted by an irritated sounding voice.

"Oh, so you do know my name, huh? You just decide to call me "Skychild" then. You said that you're done playing game – well I am too. I don't like repeating myself, so I'll say it once more: I'm not telling you a damn thing about where Zelda is, Ghirahim," Link almost shouted, struggling in the bonds as if to make a point.

The demon lowered his head so shadows covered his eyes; the hero couldn't see his expression. "You've been talking quite a bit today, Link. More than usual. I don't mind that, but the things you've been saying have really been getting on my nerves. You think that because I've let you live, that you can face me. That's where you're wrong though, boy. You think that you're all high and mighty, and because I you know where the Spirit Maiden is, I won't kill you. Here's a little fact, though; I don't _need_ you. I'm perfectly capable of finding out where she is on my own. I'm keeping you alive because it would be much quicker than searching all of the surface to find out where she is. I wasn't planning on keeping you alive anyways. So excuse me if you're dead after this because you can't keep your mouth shut." There was a silence in the air before the demon raised his head.

Link gasped at the sight; Ghirahim had stalks of black peeking out from the back of his head, and they were branching out across his features. He showed absolutely no emotion in his tone of voice or in his expressions on his face. It reminded the hero of Fi, except much more sinister. The demon lord snapped as Link shut his eyes close, regretting what he had said. The boy expected pain, and Ghirahim didn't fail to meet his expectations.

**A/N: **Did you like it? :D Hoped you enjoyed it! If you did, then don't forget to R&R! :)

****-Astral Ascension


	2. Lost Memories

**A/N: **I take too long to upload. ._. Gah, I'm so busy. I'll try to upload quicker next time, but when I wrote this chapter the first time, I didn't like it, and then my mom confiscated my laptop, and a lot of stuff happened. Also, there is some torture in this chapter, but not much. T-T Well, sorry for the wait, but without further ado, here's the chapter! :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Legend of Zelda.

_Link gasped at the sight; Ghirahim had stalks of black peeking out from the back of his head, and they were branching out across his features. He showed absolutely no emotion in his tone of voice or in his expressions on his face. It reminded the hero of Fi, except much more sinister. The demon lord snapped as Link shut his eyes close, regretting what he had said. The boy expected pain, and Ghirahim didn't fail to meet his expectations._

**Chapter Two**

Link tried to suppress the screams that the excruciating pain being thrown upon him caused, but it was a futile effort. Ghirahim repeatedly stabbed the rapier in various places on the hero's body, making sure not to hit the vital parts.

The boy threw his head back, unbearable pain overtaking every part of his body. Through the screams being voiced by Link, he could hear Ghirahim chuckle. It made him sick, the way the demon gained pleasure from the boy's pain.

Over time, the anger that had been swelled up in the demon diminished, thanks to the glorious screams that the blond emitted. Ghirahim peered at Link and grinned a little when he saw the teenager's condition; the boy's attire was now a dark red in many places.

"Skychild… do you see now what imprudence and defiance gets you? I highly doubt that you would want that to happen to you again…right? So be a good Skychild and tell me where the Spirit Maiden is located," there was a slight hint of contemptuousness in Ghirahim's voice.

"…I can't," Link replied, barely audible.

The demon only smiled; the boy was hesitant to reply, as if he was timorous of what the outcome of his answer would be. It meant that this was a start. There was a small crack in the boy's defiance, and all Ghirahim would need to do is to keep picking at that crack.

"Is that so?" the boy winced at the authority in the demon's voice, " Well then I guess that I'll just have to keep trying, then."

There was no reply from Link, but the traumatized state in which he was in left Ghirahim more than content.

Link heard a snap as he looked up and saw the room empty. Relief flooded his body seeing the demon lord gone.

Although the blond had only been with Ghirahim for less than half an hour, it had been the most torturous time he had ever experienced.

"Fi…" Link whispered and glanced around with his eyes, looking for his sword. He didn't see it, but felt the sheathe press up against his back along with the hilt of the sword brushing up against his ear. Scanning the rest of his body, the hero saw that Ghirahim didn't bother confiscating any of his items.

That bothered Link a little bit; his sword that could be his means of escape was right there, yet there was no way to access it. It was as if the demon lord purposely left the boy's items untouched for the sheer purpose of teasing him.

"No, this is hardly the time to think that. What I _do _need to think of is a way out of here," Link shut his eyes and furrowed his brows; never had he ever been in a position as bad as this one.

"Wait…Even if I can't physically contact Fi…I would be able to talk to her. Fi, can you hear me? Fi. Fi," the blond despondently called out to her, but to no avail; the was no answer. "Why? Why can't you hear me, Fi?..." his voice was strained; the pain Ghirahim inflicted on him was increasing.

That was odd.

It didn't make sense for the pain to be escalating, and at such a quick pace too.

"_Poison?"_ the boy thought, taking in a sharp gasp at an unexpected spike of pain.

No… Ghirahim wouldn't poison him. As far as Link knew, all poisons killed its victim, and Ghirahim couldn't allow his source of information to die…right?

Link couldn't keep his thoughts about what had happened together for long, though; the pain being inflicted on him was overwhelming, and it didn't seem to stop. Screams of torture slipped through Link's mouth. He didn't bother suppressing any noises that the torment resulted in; Ghirahim wasn't there, so there was no point in concealing them. The hero's thoughts soon became a jumbled mess. Just when he thought that he was going to pass out from the agony of it, the pain ceased completely.

Perspiration trickled down the blonds' temple as his chest raggedly rose and fell. Attempting to regain his composure, Link tried to recollect his thoughts, but found himself still not able to think with lucidity. That exacerbated the boy a bit. Link's thought process at the moment was incoherent and unintelligible, but no matter how hard he tried to clear his mind, it would still remain ambiguous.

The boy clenched his fingers; it irritated him so much to not comprehend what was going on. It had something to do with…someone.

For some reason, Link couldn't recall his assailant's name. It actually became more difficult to recall anything. And that worried the hero.

A lot.

Why wasn't he able to remember anything?

His past included a girl. What was her name? She was blonde…right? And some big, broad shouldered guy. Something like that. The girl – whatever her name was – was whisked away by…some kind of storm? And then…what happened? Why was he even in this room? How did he get here? Link didn't remember anything after that.

Terror struck the Skyloftian with such a force that he was left petrified; sure he didn't recall anything, but the hero remembered enough to realize that this was an extreme dilemma.

"What's the matter, Skychild? You seem a bit frightened over something," a voice rang through the room.

Startled, Link snapped his head up and scrutinized the chamber. Nothing was there, though. That voice was familiar, horrifyingly so. Yet the hero couldn't put his finger on who's voice it was.

"Have you forgotten about me? You precious little Spirit Maiden?" the voice jeered, "Heh, do you even know what's going on, Link?" A flurry of diamonds filled the space in front of Link and a tall, slim figure appeared, a hubristic look in his face.

Link let out an obvious sigh of exasperation; why was that face and voice _so _familiar, but he couldn't remember anything about it?

"Wh-what's going on?" the hero asked, and immediately regretted saying it, noticing how his voice trembled.

Ghirahim advanced forward, his face now revealing an expression of complacency. The demon genuinely smiled, confusing the hero.

"Well, first of all, we'll need to rid you of the wounds on you. Hm. How would I go about doing that? I can easily heal myself, but you'll need something different. A potion maybe?" the demon dug his hand into the satchel wrapped around Link's waist and when he pulled them out, he took a bottle with him. Inside was a red liquid.

Link made a face when he saw the potion. Ghirahim noticed and giggled, "Now come on, it can't taste _that _bad. Besides, you'll need it to heal yourself, yes?"

The boy glanced at himself, now conscious of how badly he was injured. In his state, he couldn't move his body around, so there wasn't much pain.

'This guy's bad, right?' Link thought to himself, suspiciously eyeing the figure in front of him. 'I think he is anyways…or is he? I can't know who is or isn't at this point.'

"Uhm. Yeah," the boy apprehensively replied.

Ghirahim popped open the bottle and brought it near Link's mouth. The Skyloftian accepted the liquid, shivering at the bitter taste of it.

As soon as the liquid ran down throat, though, a relief spread through his body. Link felt much lighter, and tried to move around, but perceived that his binds were still present.

"Do you need some help, Link?" an altruistic voice spoke. Link saw that the owner of the voice was referring to the shackles binding him.

Hesitantly, the blond nodded, still dubious to the motives of the man standing before him.

Looking slightly amused, Ghirahim snapped his fingers and the chains binding Link dematerialized. As soon as the boy made contact with the ground, his legs gave way. In mid fall to the ground though, a pair of hands grasped Link's clothes and pulled him up.

"It appears that you're not completely able to stand up by yourself. Well, luckily for you, we won't be doing too much walking. By the way, my name is Ghirahim," Ghirahim chuckled, lifting Link bridal style.

Surprised at the sudden action, the hero squirmed and struggled, but the demon's grasp was iron strong.

"Now, this may feel a bit uncomfortable, but it shouldn't feel like that for too long," and before the hero could question what on earth Ghirahim was talking about, he snapped.

Abruptly, an incommodious feeling came over Link. It became hard to breathe, and the space around him seemed to be minimizing. The sensation went to the point where the blond actually couldn't breathe, and the atmosphere was weighing down on him. That only lasted for a few seconds, though.

Opening his eyes, Link saw that he wasn't in a chamber, but a bedroom and a very fancy one at that. The size of the room wasn't extensively large, but it was a considerable expanse.

The walls were painted with a deep indigo color, and the carpet was the same. There were torches all along the walls, and the illuminated the room in a sort of haunting manner.

There was a bed against the middle of one of the walls, and it seemed like it was the perfect size for one person. The color of the sheets and pillows were different shades of purple, mostly a velvet color. The sheets seemed like they were made out of silk and were decorated with diamonds that were stitched sporadically. The wood at the head of the bed was carved with various symbols and designs that probably had some meaning, but they were all foreign to Link.

Right across the bed was a fireplace that possessed a barely noticeable fire. Because the torches made the room so eerie, the hero wished that the fireplace's fire was incandescent. There was nothing that the boy could do about that, though.

In front of the fireplace was an ornate looking table accompanied by two chairs. On the table was a stack of books – about 7 – all of them looking genteel.

Immersed by the numerous other decorations in the room, Link jumped when he felt something tap his shoulder.

"Welcome to my manor, Link. This is where you'll be residing for a time," Ghirahim waved his arms out to the side, insinuating to the room.

"Oh…" the Skyloftian didn't know how to answer that, so instead of thinking about what to say, he spoke what was really on his mind. "What happened to me?" his voice sounded childish and lacked the assertive tone that Link wished it had.

Ghirahim raised an eyebrow at that, "What are you talking about?"

"Why can't I remember anything? You know, so tell me!" Link took a step forward at an attempt to intimidate the man, but Ghirahim didn't flinch a bit.

"So you still remember that much…Well, I can't have _that _happening. Then how would I go about doing that?...I suppose I could give it a try…I would have to dispel that, though. I also haven't done _that _in a while…Oh well. It's the only way…" the demon mumbled, but he was talking more to himself than to Link.

After a few minutes of silence, Ghirahim looked up, staring directly at Link. He startled the boy; before, his eyes held a kind look, but he dropped that façade and now had a look of malevolence. He advanced forward quickly, taking long strides. Link tried to back up at an equally fast pace, but became fearful when his back met the wall.

At a desperate attempt to intimidate Ghirahim, Link unsheathed the sword from his back that held no meaning until now.

As soon as his fingers made contact with the hilt of the blade, a figure emerged it, obscuring his view of the demon, albeit he noticed that Ghirahim stopped in his tracks.

"Master, are you alright? Immediately following the extensive jolt of pain in the chamber you were in recently, I sensed that there was a 100% chance that you received memory loss, and a 93% chance that Ghirahim was the cause for it," the monotone voice spoke, her incorporeal figure slightly bouncing up and down.

Link's eyes widened at this. She was also quite familiar, but how? If what she said was true, though, then Ghirahim was responsible for this. And why did she call him "Master"?

"Tch. You're as irksome as ever," Ghirahim sneered, his attention towards the floating figure.

"Although it is not my intention to irritate you, I have no reason to change my actions because of it," the tone of voice that Fi used was not the one that she regularly used, but instead, it was slightly contemptuous.

"Nevertheless, having you here won't do anything," with that statement, the demon took a few steps forward to where Link was.

The boy was scared of what was happening, but he was sure that the white haired man in front of him was not an ally. Because of that, when Ghirahim came close to where he was, the Skyloftian blindly swung his sword.

The demon effortlessly caught the sword with two fingers and kept a firm grasp on it. Once Ghirahim made contact with the sacred weapon, Fi returned back into the sword. Struggling furiously, Link managed break the contact that Ghirahim had with the Master Sword but at the same time also let his grasp go. Before the hero could react to being defenseless, Ghirahim lifted his hand and placed it on Link's head.

An uncomfortable pins and needles effect overwhelmed the Skyloftian . As that was happening, though, the Skyloftian was regaining his memories.

He remembered about what his mission was, and who he was trying to save. What he remembered most vividly, however, was what happened with Ghirahim and that he was standing right in front of him.

The pain ceased rather quickly, but was replaced by a fear that made him prefer the pain.

Link was cornered, right in front of Ghirahim with his sword out of reach.

"I take it your memory's back by your expression which suits you rather well, by the way," the demon flashed a set of white fangs, scaring the child further.

Gathering up his defiance, Link replied to the statement, "Yes, I do have my memory back."

"Lovely. Now, if you could tell me where the Spirit Maiden is, then that could save you a lot of unnecessary pain and trouble," the mischievous voice spoke.

"I'm not telling you anything. I thought that we already cleared that up. I can take anything that you do to me-"

"Oh, but who said that I was going to do something to _you_? You have a perfectly good sky island that is so vulnerable to attacks that I was tempted to destroy it when I sent that tornado to retrieve the Spirit Maiden," as Ghirahim spoke that, a mix of emotions passed through Link's face – worry, rage, disbelief, fear, but the one what shone through the most was hatred.

"Don't you dare _touch _Skyloft," Link shakily replied; it was obvious that he was trying hard not to go out on a complete rage.

"Well, because you're so reluctant to tell me where the Spirit Maiden is, this is my means of persuasion," Ghirahim snickered corruptly pressing his fingers together as if he was about to snap. "You have five seconds to tell me where she is before I visit your little town. Five. Four. Three. Two. One-"

Just as the demon was about to teleport, a defeated voice spoke, barely audible, "Okay…I'll tell you where Zelda is."

**A/N: **Well, I hope you enjoy! I'll try to update faster next time… xD

R&R

-Astral Ascension


	3. Dead End

**A/N: **I'm really sorry for the super late update, guys. ._. I've just been really busy and stuff. So I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, but I really felt like I needed to get it up. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Legend of Zelda.

_Just as the demon was about to teleport, a defeated voice spoke, barely audible, "Okay…I'll tell you where Zelda is." _

**Chapter Three**

Ghirahim tilted his head up slightly; did he just hear what he thought he heard? "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Can you repeat what you just said, Skychild?"

"…I'll tell you where Zelda is…" Link's voice trembled as he spoke the words he knew he'd regret saying.

"Good boy. I see that now we're actually getting somewhere," the demon widened his eyes, smiling at the supposedly broken child in front of him. "So tell me, boy. Where is she?"

Link hesitated for a while before he whispered, "The Lanyru Sand Sea…"

Chuckling, Ghirahim put his fingers in a position to snap. "By the way, Skychild, if I find out that you're lying…well let's just say that death would be a reward compared to punishment you'd be receiving. Just keep that in mind," the second he said that, a snapping noise occurred, and the demon disappeared.

Link snapped his head up upon hearing what Ghirahim said. Immediately, the hero thought of the torture that the demon could inflict on him and shivered. Panic rose at quick pace as Link realized that his idea may have not been very smart. Maybe he could just go back to Skyloft and protect the village. That is if he even knew where he was.

"F-Fi. Can you t-tell me wh-where I am?" it became hard to talk; Link's tongue seemed twisted and knotted.

"There is a 99% chance that we are currently in the Demon Realm, in Ghirahim's mansion," her monotonous voice came, soothing Link a bit. What didn't sooth the child, though, was what Fi said.

"In the Demon Realm?" the blond questioned, wondering if he heard correctly, hoping he didn't.

"Yes, Master."

Now that Link knew that he did hear right, it scared- no, terrified him. "What do you know about this place?"

"Nothing, Master. I have never been here nor was any information about it put on my data-base. There is an 84% chance that I do not know of this place, the reason being Hylia did not plan on this even occurring."

Hearing that, Link realized that there would be no way out. This was another _realm_, not a different island, not a different region, not even on the same earth. Even so, there must be a way out, even if it's just a way out of this house. _Anything _would be better than to incur what Ghirahim wanted to inflict on him.

Glancing around the room, Link saw a pair of ornate looking doors. Without hesitation, the boy rushed through them.

He was met with a hallway on the other side of the doors. If the circumstances weren't so dire, Link probably would have admired them. They were about 15 feet in width and 24 feet in length.

The floor was made out of a polished black marble, and the walls seemed to be made out of mirror. No decorations were in this hallway; it was plain. The only sounds that were being made were the echoes that Link's boots.

The hallway never seemed to end. Link could have been running for hours before another door finally appeared. Not sure if he should be relieved or not, Link slowed down, cautious of what could be behind the door. Creaking it open, the Skyloftian could see figures roaming about. As far as Link was sure, they were demons. Pondering on what he should do, Fi spoke up, "Master if I may," Link nodded. "There's a 97% chance that these demons work for Ghirahim indicating that they follow his orders. The door that you exited out of his room was locked until you told him the false whereabouts of where Hylia was. If my analysis is correct, then that means that someone – most likely Ghirahim – purposely unlocked those doors. He wouldn't allow you to die, therefore he believes that you can overcome this obstacle. This also means that he most likely is aware of the fact that you lied to him."

Scoffing, Link shook his head, "So this is just a game that I'm suppose to play. Fine. I'll play," And with those words, the blond strode through the doors.

The room itself was a plain cobblestone room, and looked rather mundane compared to what the hero had encountered in the mansion's previous rooms. But there was something that interested Link yet scared him at the same time; there was blood _everywhere_. The floor was nearly invisible due to the pools of blood and crimson, which was splattered in sporadic places on the wall.

The stench of blood and death was nauseating and practically gagged Link. He had never seen something so traumatizing, and it scared him to think of what these demons are capable of. If they got into a battle, it would be obvious as to who would win. The demons outnumbered Link, and there was no way that the blond could fight in these circumstances.

It just wasn't possible.

As soon as the demons – about 5 of them were there – noticed Link, they stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Unlike the incoherent, worthless bokoblins that served Ghirahim, these looked more perceptive, capable, and much more blood-thirsty.

Three of the demons appeared to be male, the other two female. Standing at about 7 feet tall, they towered over Link, allowing them to appear more threatening than they actually were. All they wore were blood covered, tattered rags that barely covered what was necessary.

The male's hair was short enough to where it couldn't really appear sloppy, but the same excuse couldn't be used for the female's hair. Their hair was unkempt and disheveled to say the very least. It was sticking out in various places and looked very coarse.

Although it was hard to tell through the blood, their skin appeared very pale, almost translucent which was very different compared to their bloodshot, opaque, crimson eyes.

As much as Link's instincts were telling him to run away as fast as possible, his mind just wouldn't tell his feet to move. Nothing was really processing through his brain except fear right now.

There was silence for a while before a male-looking demon made his first move. He charged at Link, seized the hero's right wrist, and pinned him against the wall. The blond was not expecting this and didn't process what had happened until he found himself against the wall. Link was bewildered at how quick the demon was. He hadn't even seen the demon take a step and the next thing he knew, he was restrained against the wall.

"Fi, what are these things?" Link almost shouted as he turned his head towards the restrained wrist.

"I do not know, Master. These demons do not reside in the world you live in. I did do an analysis on them and found information about them, albeit not very much that could be helpful at this very moment. These particular type of demons feed off of the blood of humans. A very long time ago, around the time the war took place, a civilized form of these demons were alive. They were called vampires and were one of the higher classed demons. Now, though, they are considered a very low class, but their speed and strength are still commendable compared to that of a human…" the sword spirit's projection faded away; the demon was gripping Link's wrist so tightly, and it was impossible to keep a hold on the Master Sword. The hero bit his lip at that blunder; things were going from bad to worse.

"What brings you here, human boy?" the demon spoke, nothing but excitement and malice in his voice.

Link didn't answer, not knowing how to respond.

"Maybe Ghirahim brought us some food," a female demon suggested, her crimson eyes staring into cerulean ones.

"He sure does smell good…" another male demon spoke up, slowing closing the distance between him and Link.

"You're right… I don't think that I'll be able to wait for Ghirahim…" the demon in front of Link took in a deep breath, savoring the smell that the boy gave off. All the hero did was stare into his eyes with trepidation; his body did not seem to move no matter how badly he tried.

Suddenly, the demon restraining Link closed off the small distance that they had between them and headed straight below the blonds' face. A wet feeling on Link's neck caused him to tense up. Shivering, the boy tried to struggle, an uncomfortable feeling arising.

That only lasted for a few seconds, and the slimy feeling was replaced by two sharp objects threatening to break the flesh. Before he could pierce the skin, though, a black rapier swiftly decapitated his head, blood erupting from it.

Link felt the demon's grip weaken and soon gave way. The boy collapsed to the floor, not even daring to take a breath; it wasn't hard to guess who that black rapier belonged to.

"If you want your pathetic lives to be spared, I suggest you leave _now_," Ghirahim's demanded, slashing his rapier through the air to clean the blood off, then teleporting it away.

Immediately, the four remaining demons turned into pools of blood and soon soaked into the ground but not before staring directly at Link, a blood-thirsty hunger in their eyes.

The white haired demon turned back to look at Link, no emotion showing in his eyes at all. "You know, Link, you need to be alive if you want to save the Spirit Maiden, but it looks like you're trying get yourself killed," Ghirahim spat, irritation now showing.

Not in any mood to argue with the demon, Link stared at his knees, hoping Ghirahim would just get his punishment over with.

"I expect an answer, Skychild. Don't think that I won't reprimand you just because you almost died. No, that should be even more reason to punish you. You lied to me and tried to escape, only encountering demons that could have easily brought you to your death. How troublesome," Ghirahim made a 'tch' sound, looking at Link like the boy was inferior to him.

"You unlocked the door," The blond replied quietly.

Ghirahim stared at the boy, confused about what Link was talking about, "I didn't unlock anything, Skychild. I was actually about to ask you how you even got here. Someone unlocked it. But they're not here anymore, so all I have to worry about dealing with is you. We'll stay in this room, by the way; it's perfect," Ghirahim frowned, "Except for these blood stains on the wall, but I can take care of that…" the demon lord snapped his fingers, the crimson vanishing instantaneously.

There was another snap, and Link found diamond shaped chains harshly pulling him up and against the wall. The boy immediately struggled. Link didn't want to be bound like this. If only Ghirahim fought him in a fair battle.

The demon lord took hold of blond hair and vehemently stuck Link's head against the stone wall. The boy grunted in pain, turning his head to the side, refusing to look at Ghirahim.

"Why don't you fight me in a fair battle?" the boy muttered, spite apparent in his tone.

"What's the point? You'd lose to me anyway," Ghirahim chuckled, "I mean, these petty demons almost killed you, so what makes you think that you can face me?"

"It didn't seem like that when we fought before," it bothered the demon to see Link building so much defiance in his voice.

"Ha! You really think that you can take me on because of those fights? You're funny, Skychild. But if you're rushing to your death, then why not just die a respectful death by my hands instead of a pitiable one by some feeble beings?" the demon broke into an all out laughter as he snapped, the chains embedding themselves in the wall.

Link stumbled, surprised that Ghirahim took his offer. Picking up his sword from the ground, the Skyloftian took a stance that he normally did before a fight.

A mechanical, yet soothing voice arose in Link's mind, "Master, I would advise caution when fighting Ghirahim."

"Why?" the blond thought back, "He should be as easy as he was to beat now than before."

"I do not completely understand why this is, but the dark aura that I always sensed around him seems to be increased by 100% ever since our arrival to the Demon Realm. There is a 96% chance that Ghirahim may use abilities that you are not familiar with and a 99% chance that the abilities you are familiar with will be increased in power and speed," Fi responded, a slight weariness in her voice, "I will let you know if I discover anything else helpful, Master."

"Okay, Fi," Link said, studying how Ghirahim was different than before. Something _was _different, but the hero couldn't find what it was exactly.

Interrupting the blond from his thoughts, Ghirahim spoke in an amused tone, "You can make the first move, Skychild."

Taking a deep breath, Link charged at the demon, determined to be triumph in battle. The hero aimed his sword for Ghirahim's left abdomen but at the last second, switched to his right.

Chuckling, the demon lord easily caught the blade. The Skyloftian looked up, expecting to see his sword impaled in Ghirahim's side because of the abrupt stop. To say that Link's heart skipped a beat was an understatement. To be more accurate, it pretty much stopped.

"H-how?..." the boy managed to get out. The attack that Link attempted was put with more effort than any other attacks he used on Ghirahim. And was blocked. Easily.

Without waiting another second, the demon ripped the Master Sword out of the hero's hand, putting it into his own use. "This looks familiar, does it not? It reminds me of when we first met, except it won't leave with you unscathed," Ghirahim jeered, slowly stepping forward, closing the distance between him and the terrified boy.

Eyes opened wide in fear, Link's mind raced, thinking of a way to get his sword back. Without it, there truly was no hope in coming out victor of the battle. Thinking of what he did the first time they fought to get his sword back, the hero did the same thing.

Cautiously, the teen strode towards Ghirahim, unsure if this was the right choice to make. The instant Link came into the range of the sword, the demon struck the weapon down with tremendous force and speed. Seeing Ghirahim change his stance into one of battle, Link hastily threw his shield up in front of him to take the blow. Barely making it in time to block the attack, the hero could not secure his footing, and as the clang of metal on metal reverberated throughout the room, he was thrown backwards, landing harshly against one of the walls.

Link gave a small scream of pain as his head connected with the stone surface, a cracking noise sounded, most likely his skull. Barely managing to stay conscious, he opened his eyes just slightly, but nothing but debris covered the boy's field of vision. The hero steadily got up, ignoring his body's cries of pain. Leaning against the wall for support, Link saw a figure slowly approaching. Panicking, the boy ran alongside the wall until he was sure that he had made as much distance as he could with Ghirahim. Looking for the demon, Link saw that he was staring at him.

"I'd like my sword back," the boy growled, agitated that the Holy Sword was being wielded by a demon.

"Very well," the white-haired assailant complied, casting the weapon across the room.

Hastily picking it up, Link heard a recognizable sound, and noticed that the demon had conjured up his own sword.

Wasting no time, Ghirahim vanished in a sea of diamonds and reappeared behind Link, slicing into the boy's left abdomen. The rapier pierced through cloth, chainmail, and skin, a cry emitting from the hero's mouth.

Link quickly turned around, bringing his sword with him, but found nothing but empty air. Surveying the area, he sensed a presence above himself, and back-flipped out of the way as the demon came crashing down, splitting the ground below them.

Ghirahim seemed to have put too much force into the attack, his weapon was now embedded in the stone. Seeing this as an opportunity to strike, Link jumped towards the demon, leading with his sword.

Just as the teen was about to cut into Ghirahim's right shoulder, he abruptly pulled the sword out of the earth and used it to block the attack.

Surprised at that, Link stumbled backwards, eyeing the demon cautiously. But that didn't last for long; Ghirahim had disappeared from sight. Scanning the room, the Skyloftian unfortunately didn't find any clues of where the demon was.

"Looking for me, Skychild?" a malevolent voice was heard from behind Link. Upon hearing that voice, the hero turned around, but the demon acted much quicker than the boy would have expected.

Excruciating pain erupted from Link's right shoulder as he felt the black blade enter his body. As quickly as the blade entered, it exited, blood gushing out from the wound. Gasping in agony, the green-clad teen staggered backwards.

Link clutched his wound, feeling a warm, sticky substance that continued to ooze out. Gripping his sword tightly, the hero glared at Ghirahim, who was now gliding his tongue up the rapier, savoring the hero's blood.

Shivering at the sight, the boy noticed that the hilt of his sword was flashing blue.

"Fi, did you find anything out?" Link thought, hoping that what Fi had to say was good for him.

"After analyzing Ghirahim as he is now, I conclude that there is a 3% of you coming out victorious, Master," Fi spoke in her monotonous voice.

Link's jaw dropped. 3%. Did he really hear that correctly?

Raising his head to look at Ghirahim, the teen dreadfully saw that he wasn't there anymore. The boy's searching didn't last for long, though, as the demon reappeared right in front of him, startling the hero. Ghirahim flashed a set of fangs as he grabbed the Master Sword with only his glove as protection.

Link immediately tried to regain control of his sword by twisting it, but the demon's grip was like iron. Black blood started running down Ghirahim's arm from the way the Master Sword cut into his palm. It didn't seem to faze him; in fact, it appeared to even excite him.

Furrowing his eyebrows as the impetuous action, Link struggled with his sword in hand but there was no escaping the demon.

The hero's eyesight blurred; he was losing a large amount of blood in a short period of time, and the boy wondered how long he could last like this. Ghirahim would finish him off, or the lack of blood would; either way, Link was going to lose this.

It became hard to stay awake as the Skyloftian found himself in and out of consciousness. Letting go of the sword, Link stumbled into a nearby wall, using it to prop himself up.

"Do you still want to fight me, Link?" a presumptuous voice called.

There wasn't an answer; the green-clad hero was more focused on staying conscious than he was on answering Ghirahim.

"I guess not. You didn't put up much of a fight, Skychild. And I was worried for a second that you'd actually be able to beat me!" the words were coated in sarcasm.

A snap echoed throughout the room, much to Link's misfortune, and the hero found himself in a familiar situation, manacles and fetters restraining him to the stone wall.

"So you wanted a battle with me, and that's what you got. So tell me, boy, why were you so quick to back down?" amusement was apparent in the demon's voice.

Link still paid no attention to the white-haired male's voice; it was hard enough to keep himself awake.

Ghirahim noticed the boy's dilemma. The demon smirked, entertained at how fragile the human body was, but nevertheless decided to help; there was no point in torturing someone if they're not in a right state of mind after all.

He conjured up a tiny blue sprite, signaling it heal Link. Hesitantly, the fairy made its way over to the half-dead boy and allowed its magic to heal him, vanishing when its work was completed.

Link's wounds closed as the fairy's healing abilities set in, the color returning to the boy's recently pale face.

Blinking a few times, the hero adjusted to his new condition. Seeing that he was still in the same room with Ghirahim caused him to tense up. There was nothing stopping the merciless demon from torturing him now?

"Now that you're in perfect shape, let's stop playing around and actually get some work done, hmm?" the previously mischievous and playful – to a certain extent – attitude that the white-clad demon expressed was now virulent, a deadly tone to it, causing Link to wince as he felt the familiar presence approach.

"I'm not telling you anything," Link spoke, attempting to sound defiant and although he was successful, Ghirahim could sense the tiniest bit of faltering courage through his façade.

"Oh, really?" the demon whispered, barely loud enough for the boy to hear, "Will you be able to say that a day from now? Will you be able to say that in twelve hours, six hours, one hour, maybe even thirty minutes from now? I bet you that you won't," Ghirahim proceeded closer to the teen until his mouth was literally next to Link's ear. "Do you know why I think that you'll break, Skychild? Because you're nothing but a pathetic human. I have you here for as long as I want after all, and who's to say that your courage won't just shatter?"

Link cringed as the demon came into an uncomfortable range of him, the feeling of Ghirahim's breath on his ear and neck extremely unsettling.

As the white-haired assailant backed away from Link, the boy sighed, relived that he regained his personal space.

"So why don't you just save yourself the trouble and tell me?" the dreaded voice filled in the blissful silence that Link wished to remain.

The hero was getting slightly irritated at Ghirahim's repetitive question, "I told you that I won't tell. Also, if you were thinking of involving Skyloft in this, then forget it. This has to do with you and me, _not _the people of Skyloft."

"You're really set on believing that you won't tell, huh? Well then, I guess that I'll just have to prove you wrong, Skychild," a devious smile appeared on the demon's face, alarming Link.

Ghirahim took the rapier he wielded and carefully sliced right down the hero's torso.

Surprisingly enough, the demon didn't cut through any skin. That seemed quite odd to the boy; Ghirahim could have easily drawn blood if he desired to do so, but he didn't. It was a mystery to Link until he felt his bare abdomen being exposed as a result of the demon slicing through his tunic and chainmail.

The hero bit his lip; how could something have cut through chainmail so easily? The answer was right in front of him as he saw Ghirahim's blade coated in a violet-black aura. What was that aura, though?

Link flinched away as he saw the demon bring the blade closer and closer to his chest, almost touching it. Even though the Skyloftian made no contact with the aura, he could feel its effects; there was a moderate amount of pain in the areas near the blade, and even that made him wince.

Ghirahim broke out into a howling laughter, "You're really that scared, Skychild? I thought that you were a defiant warrior!"

Link murmured spitefully in response, "I'm a warrior, not a masochist."

"Then you shouldn't be afraid of some pain," the demon spoke, altering the position of his rapier so it made an incision right below the teen's sternum.

Clenching his hands into fists, Link grinded his teeth together, letting out a quick breath.

As the sword pierced through skin, a burning sensation occurred, spreading throughout the teen's body. The feeling dissipated quickly, though, leaving the boy panting. As a child, he got a little too close to fire once or twice, but nothing near like the experience now.

"Did that hurt, Skychild?" Ghirahim mocked a sympathetic tone, "Do you want me to stop?"

Staring at the ground, Link contemplated on what he should say; obviously, he wanted the demon to stop (like that's going to happen), but he couldn't give in to Ghirahim so easily, or ever, for that matter. "No. Go right ahead. I can take anything you do to me without sacrificing Skyloft of Zelda."

"That's a lie, because you're not the only human I've tormented, so trust me when I say this. I know their breaking point. Everything has one, after all," the demon snarled, slowly edging the blade closer to Link.

Apprehensively, the boy replied, "I'd bite my own tongue off if that's what it takes to prevent myself from telling you where Zelda is."

"You do realize that you'd die if you did that, child," Ghirahim gave an exasperated sigh, narrowing his eyes down at Link.

"That's not the point…"

"Ha, very well. You say that you can take anything I do to you? Now, I'd like to prove you wrong," the demon chuckled, positioning the sword so it was slightly cutting into Link's right shoulder.

As the blade made contact with flesh, the hero shivered, the same burning sensation from before.

The feeling was intensified ten-fold, though, as Ghirahim started cutting down in a diagonal line from right shoulder to left hip. Failing to suppress his agony, Link cried out, throwing his head back as he felt like his entire body was being engulfed in flames. Nothing was able to process through the hero's mind at this point in time; everything that happened was just a blur of pain.

The demon curled the edge of his lips upward, relishing in the screams that the hero emitted. Ghirahim slowed his pace and cut deeper into the skin, the aura around the sword pulsating in large waves. Eventually, though, the demon reached the boy's left hip and pulled the rapier away, looking at Link's torso to admire the precision of the line he cut.

The burning feeling ceased and so did the boy's screaming, much to Ghirahim's dismay. Link's face was rather colorless and he himself felt like he was going to vomit, albeit there was nothing in his stomach to empty.

Snapping, Ghirahim discarded his rapier, but replaced it with a dagger that possessed the same aura the rapier had. Without giving the teen any time to comment or think, the demon took a step forward and started to slice Link in sporadic places.

The pain began much too quickly after it had stopped for the comforts of the boy. The manner in which the hero was being tortured was an… odd one, though.

The burning sensation would come and go in various places across his torso, but the pain was still the same. There would be a spark of pain near his shoulder one second, and then appear on his stomach the next.

Link breathed harshly and closed his eyes, twisting in an attempt to escape the pain, but all that did was aggravate his previous wounds further. It took everything not to shout, and even then, a cry would escape every now and then.

The teen tasted a metallic liquid in his mouth and realized that he was biting down on his lip so forcefully that blood had spilt from the split lip.

The pain seemed to last forever, although in reality, it had only lasted for about 30 seconds. When Ghirahim backed away from the boy, he seemed content with what he did. Link opened his eyes and tensed up every time he took in a breath; moving even in the slightest seemed to irritate the wounds. The hero felt a warm, sticky liquid, and he didn't need to look down at his injuries to see what it was. Ultimately, the pain was still there, albeit not as noticeable.

"You look lovely painted in your own blood, Skychild," Ghirahim said, smiling at the boy's wounds.

Link breathed in and out slowly, wincing at the pain from his movement and found it very hard to keep quiet, seeing as any reply that the boy had in mind would only anger the demon.

"So you're still not talking? That's a shame. And I thought that I could spare your island, but I guess not," the demon spoke, feigning disappointment.

That caught Link's attention. "Skyloft has _nothing _to do with this."

"It will, soon. I _will_ be successful in reviving my master, and when I do, he'll destroy your pathetic island. What's the point in keeping it there if it's just going to be obliterated in the future?" Ghirahim retorted, cocking his head to the side.

"The only person who's going to be successful is me. So keep them out of this," the hero growled, annoyance growing inside.

The demon ignored Link's reply and gave a quick comment before he vanished into thin air, "Besides, if your worthless town can't even defend against a few bokoblins, then they're going have a real hard time against what my master has planned for them."

**A/N: **Again, I'm really sorry for such a late update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)

R&R

-Astral Ascension


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